Today’s challenge was to write about: a word or phrase that you use constantly. The only one that I can think of, which is ‘cool’, and that seems completely superfluous to write about even in this challenge, so I’m going for a word I don’t like and a phrase I do. Continue reading Starting sentences with Look and I Think
Category: Writing & Language
A quote to live by
I collect quotes and have for many years. Whenever I’m reading a book or article and come across a passage that jumps out at me I mark that passage to come back to later, or write the quote down straight away. Continue reading A quote to live by
Alleyah’s scars
In the science fiction novel that I’m writing, one of my main characters, Alleyah, is in a medical facility on a moon of Saturn early in the novel. She’s being rehabilitated after some pretty traumatic experiences fighting in a civil war. Continue reading Alleyah’s scars
Why we need to stop talking about refugees
— rethinking the language we use to talk about refugees and people seeking asylum —
It is a truth universally acknowledged that campaigns based on evidence, universal human rights, or even plain common sense, are sadly not guaranteed success. Continue reading Why we need to stop talking about refugees
Germany’s Reichstag and Bundestag
On Tuesday 29 December I attended a lecture in the plenary hall of the German parliament – the Bundestag (the Reichstag is the name of the building – we’ll get to that later). These lectures are free, they happen on Tuesdays at 11.00am, and you really have to book ahead.
You won’t be disappointed. Visiting the Reichstag Building is a Berlin must. The two hours or so you spend here will give you an excellent sense of the history of Germany, from the days of the Holy Roman Empire up until today. Continue reading Germany’s Reichstag and Bundestag
Barfly 2015 (after Bukowski)
I’m in Bar Bukowski, an Amsterdam watering hole in the hip Oost area, inspired by American author Henry Charles Bukowski.
Annihilation (Book Review)
A review I published last week at Fantastica of Annihilation, the first book in Jeff VanderMeer’s The Southern Reach Trilogy. The only thing I’d read of his before was a very Borgesian chapter in City of Saints and Madman, so I went into it expecting a very ‘conscious’ reading experience, rather than what I would call more passive escapism.
You can read the review online in its original context here. Continue reading Annihilation (Book Review)
In my dreams (August 2015)
Hello!
I had an excellent day today so I’m finishing with something I’ve wanted to do for close to seven months now – writing this to all of you.
The more often you do (or don’t do) something, the easier it is to keep doing it, I guess. Continue reading In my dreams (August 2015)
Dear Sylvia (Poem)
Originally written to be performed at an Art After Dark event as part of the 2015 Spectrum Now Festival, at the Australian Centre for Photography, Paddington, on 19 March 2015.
Subsequently published on the ACP website here: Continue reading Dear Sylvia (Poem)
The Graduate (Poem)
A poem about modern dating. Originally published by Seizure on 22 October 2014. Online here. Continue reading The Graduate (Poem)